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Thali

Next: 26 Dec to 1 Jan 2027

Kwanzaa

Seven days honouring African American heritage, with a shared feast called Karamu on 31 December.

2003 Kwanzaa celebration with Ron Karenga
Photo: Apavlo at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What is eaten for Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga and is modelled on African first fruits festivals. Each of its seven days is given to one principle, such as unity or cooperative work, and a candle is lit. Fruit, vegetables and ears of corn are set on a mat as symbols of the harvest. On the sixth evening families hold the Karamu, a feast that draws on the cooking of Africa and its diaspora: jollof rice, gumbo, collard greens, black-eyed peas, fried plantain and sweet potato pie.

The dishes

Jollof riceWest African rice dish on many Karamu tables.GumboFrom the Black cooking of Louisiana.Fried plantainSweet fried slices from Africa and the Caribbean.Sweet potato pieThe dessert of the feast.

Also part of it, and being written: Collard (Slow-cooked greens of the American South.), Black-eyed pea (A bean carried from Africa to the Americas.).

About this page

Written by the Thali desk with AI assistance. Background: "Kwanzaa" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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